Construction Spending Rises 0.4%
Construction spending rose 0.4% in December to a seasonally adjusted $982 billion annual rate, the Commerce Department reported Feb. 2.
The rate was below economists’ forecasts of a 0.7% increase, Bloomberg News reported.
Total construction spending rose 5.6% last year to $961.4 billion — a slightly lower gain than the 5.7% increase in 2013.
Spending on single-family houses rose 1.2% in December, while highway construction grew by 2.1% and manufacturing construction rose 2%. Highway construction spending for the year rose 4.1% to $84.4 billion, Commerce said.
Private construction spending edged up 0.1% in December and was up 7.2% for the year, at $687 billion; residential construction rose 0.3% in December and gained 4.1% for the year, to $350 billion; and nonresidential construction slipped 0.2% in December but jumped 10.5% for the year, to $337 billion.
Public construction spending rose at 1.1% rate in December and gained 1.8% for the year, to $274.4 billion, Commerce said.
